"There's the Cashmere Cat" - A Very Sparkly Dec. 2021 TR! *NEW 4/23

[the2ndstar2theright]

I love a good road trip - especially when it leads to Disney! The condo looks really nice. Interested to hear about your off property experience. Disney resort prices have gotten so crazy it's something I'll consider in the future.

I love staying at Disney resorts, but it was really nice to have some space to spread out and not feel like we were so on top of each other!!

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Genie Plus, and whether it was worth it!

We opted not to buy it in advance because we wanted to wait and see what the crowds were actually like and if we thought we really needed it. We ended up only getting it for one day, and I'll definitely share about that!!

I can't imagine what it is like to drive to Disney! It's just too far for us. But glad it was an unevenful trip! Can't wait to hear about the first day.

We always drove when I was a kid, so I guess I'm just used to it! I definitely prefer to fly if I can, but the drive didn't even feel that long this time.

I think I've read one of your trip reports before. Looking forward to this one too.

Welcome back!!

I'M HERE AND SO EXCITED TO READ MORE!!! You know I always love a good drive to Disney and the condo looks gorgeous! I can't wait to read more about this trip

HIIIII!!!! SO happy you're here!!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 1 - Tuesday December 14, 2021
Magic Kingdom

It was finally our first park day!! I got up a little bit after 7:00 and got ready to go. Everyone was actually up by 7:30, which I really didn’t expect to happen, but I wasn’t complaining! We all packed our park bags and headed toward the car. It was right around 8:05 when we were pulling out of the resort. We were headed to the Magic Kingdom! At some point during the drive, I checked Touring Plans only to discover that the park hours had changed at some point, and MK had actually opened at 8:00 this morning and not 9:00. I was pretty upset with myself because I had really wanted to get there for rope drop on our first day, and honestly I still can’t figure out how I missed that.
We got into the MK parking lot around 8:30 and then quickly made our way to TTC. Security was fairly quick and painless, and soon we were on the ferry.






The only plus to missing rope drop was that there was no line at the tapstiles, so we were inside the park pretty quickly.
Pretty much as soon as we walked in the park, I started tearing up. It had been almost 2 years since I had been in the Magic Kingdom, and I was just so happy to be home! We made our way down Main Street, passing the long lines at the all the photographers and deciding that we would come back later when things had died down. We had decided the night before to go to Space first, so we made our way over to the Tomorrowland bridge.

There was a photographer over there with no line, so we decided to stop for some pictures.




We took some with all four of us first, and then we asked the photographer if we could get some with just me and Wesley. I shifted over a little, and then looked up to see my parents walking towards us.
Ummm…..what is going on?
I turn back to look at Wesley just as he is getting down on one knee.

Of course, I said yes!!



​

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

I was shaking so bad it was kind of crazy. Later, my mom asked me if I had heard all the people walking by saying “awwww” and cheering, and I most definitely did not!
So, it turned out that Wesley had been planning this with my mom for months. She had concocted this whole story that she and my dad were going on a trip of their own down to the Florida Keys, and they had even left the day before we did. I asked my mom if they were ever going to the Keys, and she said no, that they were actually going to be with us for the first couple days of our trip!
We of course had to take some pictures with everybody (while I’m still shaking and trying not to burst into ugly crying).





It felt kind of funny to just start going on rides after such a big moment like that, but I knew it was too early to call my grandparents or my friends, so off we went to Space!!​

 

[SEAGULL59]

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I was shaking so bad it was kind of crazy. Later, my mom asked me if I had heard all the people walking by saying “awwww” and cheering, and I most definitely did not!
So, it turned out that Wesley had been planning this with my mom for months. She had concocted this whole story that she and my dad were going on a trip of their own down to the Florida Keys, and they had even left the day before we did. I asked my mom if they were ever going to the Keys, and she said no, that they were actually going to be with us for the first couple days of our trip!
We of course had to take some pictures with everybody (while I’m still shaking and trying not to burst into ugly crying).

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It felt kind of funny to just start going on rides after such a big moment like that, but I knew it was too early to call my grandparents or my friends, so off we went to Space!!​

Congrats!! What an awesome start to your trip.

 

[snikki]

Congrats!! What a great way to start the trip. Plus your parents get to join in the fun!

 

[Newsies]

AWWWW!! I am so happy for you guys!! Congratulations!! Such a beautiful way to start the trip

 

[CML's mom]

Congratulations! So sweet!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We took some with all four of us first, and then we asked the photographer if we could get some with just me and Wesley. I shifted over a little, and then looked up to see my parents walking towards us.
Ummm…..what is going on?
I turn back to look at Wesley just as he is getting down on one knee.

OMG!!!! That is amazing!!!

Beautiful!

did. I asked my mom if they were ever going to the Keys, and she said no, that they were actually going to be with us for the first couple days of our trip!

That is impressive! And you had no clue?

Great photo! You both look so excitied! He must have been so nervous!

 

[rdkeim]

What an amazing start to your trip! Congratulations!

 

[Wayland10]

Congratulations! You look so happy!

 

[footballmouse]

What a surprise! Congratulations!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Day 1 - Tuesday December 14, 2021
Magic Kingdom

It was finally our first park day!! I got up a little bit after 7:00 and got ready to go. Everyone was actually up by 7:30, which I really didn’t expect to happen, but I wasn’t complaining! We all packed our park bags and headed toward the car. It was right around 8:05 when we were pulling out of the resort. We were headed to the Magic Kingdom! At some point during the drive, I checked Touring Plans only to discover that the park hours had changed at some point, and MK had actually opened at 8:00 this morning and not 9:00. I was pretty upset with myself because I had really wanted to get there for rope drop on our first day, and honestly I still can’t figure out how I missed that.
We got into the MK parking lot around 8:30 and then quickly made our way to TTC. Security was fairly quick and painless, and soon we were on the ferry.
View attachment 644182

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The only plus to missing rope drop was that there was no line at the tapstiles, so we were inside the park pretty quickly.
Pretty much as soon as we walked in the park, I started tearing up. It had been almost 2 years since I had been in the Magic Kingdom, and I was just so happy to be home! We made our way down Main Street, passing the long lines at the all the photographers and deciding that we would come back later when things had died down. We had decided the night before to go to Space first, so we made our way over to the Tomorrowland bridge.
View attachment 644185
There was a photographer over there with no line, so we decided to stop for some pictures.
View attachment 644190

View attachment 644191

We took some with all four of us first, and then we asked the photographer if we could get some with just me and Wesley. I shifted over a little, and then looked up to see my parents walking towards us.
Ummm…..what is going on?
I turn back to look at Wesley just as he is getting down on one knee.
View attachment 644203
Of course, I said yes!!

View attachment 644202

​

Congrats!!!!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

That is so awesome! Congratulations and I glad your parents were able to share this special moment with you.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Congratulations what a wonderful surprise for you!

 

[bambialways4ever]

OMG!!! I had read your very first post and then somehow lost this TR and finally found it and got caught up tonight.


Congratulations!!!!!! How exciting!!!!! Looking forward to see what's next!!!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Congrats!! What an awesome start to your trip.

Thank you so much!!

Congrats!! What a great way to start the trip. Plus your parents get to join in the fun!

Thank you!! Having them there was definitely the icing on the cake!

AWWWW!! I am so happy for you guys!! Congratulations!! Such a beautiful way to start the trip

Thank you!!!

Congratulations! So sweet!

Thank you so much!

That is impressive! And you had no clue?

I had started to notice that my mom's texts were a little strange, but I really had no idea that they were actually in Orlando and not the Keys!

Great photo! You both look so excitied! He must have been so nervous!

He was, which I think is why he left me in the dust as he made a bee-line down Main Street! He had the exact spot planned and everything!

What an amazing start to your trip! Congratulations!

It really was! Thank you!

Congratulations! You look so happy!

Thank you so much!! We're so excited!

What a surprise! Congratulations!

Thank you!!

Congrats!!!!

Thank you!

That is so awesome! Congratulations and I glad your parents were able to share this special moment with you.

Thank you! I was too! Definitely made it even more special.

Congratulations what a wonderful surprise for you!

Thank you!!

OMG!!! I had read your very first post and then somehow lost this TR and finally found it and got caught up tonight.


Congratulations!!!!!! How exciting!!!!! Looking forward to see what's next!!!

Thank you so much!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Day 1 - Tuesday December 14, 2021
MK - Part 2

The standby line at Space was posted at 20 minutes, but we definitely waited less than that.


Clearly I was still a little bit in shock...and Wesley definitely didn't know where the camera was lol


From Space, we decided to head over to Buzz, which had about a 20 minute wait. I didn’t make note of our scores, which must mean we didn’t do very well HA!

Then we set off for 7DMT, which had a 70 minute posted wait. That’s normally not a line we would get in, but I had been watching wait times in the week leading up to our trip and knew that it wasn’t likely to get any shorter. We ended up waiting right around 50 minutes, which wasn’t too bad!

*Side Note* - for some reason on this trip, MDE was not picking up mine or Wesley's magic bands, so we're missing some photos for rides like 7DMT that don't have a Mickey for you to tap after the ride.

After 7DMT, we were getting hungry and decided to head to Adventureland in search of some spring rolls. Wesley and I got an order of the cheeseburger and an order of the pastrami/pepper jack to split.

I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed by these. We all actually agreed that the pastrami/pepper jack rolls were better than the cheeseburger ones, but I probably wouldn’t get them again (unpopular opinion, I know!).

From there we went over to the Jingle Cruise, which also had a 70 minute posted wait. Our Touring Plans app was estimating 45 minutes, so we decided to get in line, but we definitely waited right about 70 minutes. This was probably the worst wait of the whole trip, more because of how close together the line was as a weaved around the queue than anything else. Our skipper Nicole was fantastic, though, and we ended up being really glad we waited!

Next, we made a quick bathroom stop by Pirates before jumping in line for it. We didn’t wait long at all before we were boarding a boat.

At this point, Wesley needed something to drink, so we stopped at a cart in Frontierland before getting in line for BTMRR. We waited about 30 minutes or so, and ended up getting rows 2, 3, & 4!

After my favorite ride, I needed a snack, so we found a cart in Frontierland to get Dad a Mickey pretzel and me a Mickey ice cream sandwich. It was delicious as always!

A character cavalcade went by as we were eating our snacks!






We decided to go get in line for Haunted Mansion, which was posted 40 minutes. They actually had the line running down by the water, which was kind of interesting. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen them do that before.

Mom took this pic while we were waiting to send to some of our family!


After our trip to see the happy haunts, we stopped for some PP pictures outside the Mansion!



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[the2ndstar2theright]

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[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

He was, which I think is why he left me in the dust as he made a bee-line down Main Street! He had the exact spot planned and everything!

Ha! That is so sweet! Again, CONGRATS!!!

but I probably wouldn’t get them again (unpopular opinion, I know!).

It's ok. More for me! Ha.

From there we went over to the Jingle Cruise, which also had a 70 minute posted wait. Our Touring Plans app was estimating 45 minutes, so we decided to get in line, but we definitely waited right about 70 minutes. This was probably the worst wait of the whole trip, more because of how close together the line was as a weaved around the queue than anything else. Our skipper Nicole was fantastic, though, and we ended up being really glad we waited!

Jungle Cruise probably has the worst que in MK in my opinion. Blek. It moves slow and it so tight. I didn't like it before COVID.

Mom took this pic while we were waiting to send to some of our family!

Great photo!

 

[Newsies]

I adore the photos from Space Mountain -- ugh you look so happy!!!

Sounds like an amazing day so far, you got a lot done considering what the crowds looked like during your trip!